June 2021 - The Official Stewart-Haas Racing Website

SHR Post-Race Report: Pocono Doubleheader

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Pocono Doubleheader

Date: June 26, 2021
Event: Pocono Organics CBD 325 (Round 18 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format: 130 laps, broken into three stages (25 laps/52 laps/53 laps)

Race Winner: Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Kurt Busch of Chip Ganassi Racing (Chevrolet)

SHR Race Finish:
● Kevin Harvick (Started 3rd, Finished 8th / Running, completed 130 of 130 laps)
● Aric Almirola (Started 11th, Finished 16th / Running, completed 130 of 130 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 28th, Finished 24th / Running, completed 130 of 130 laps)
● Cole Custer (Started 26th, Finished 38th / Accident, completed 13 of 130 laps)

SHR Points:
● Kevin Harvick (8th with 552 points, 177 out of first)
● Chase Briscoe (26th with 298 points, 431 out of first)
● Aric Almirola (27th with 262 points, 467 out of first)
● Cole Custer (28th with 261 points, 468 out of first)

SHR Notes:
● Harvick earned his 13th top-10 of the season and his 21st top-10 in 41 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono.
● Harvick’s 21 top-10s at Pocono are tied with Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch for the most among the active NASCAR Cup Series drivers.
● This was Harvick’s fourth straight top-10 at Pocono.
● This was Harvick’s second straight top-10. He finished fifth in the series’ last race at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway.
● Harvick finished fifth in Stage 1 to earn six bonus points.
● Briscoe was the highest finishing NASCAR Cup Series rookie.

Race Notes:
● Alex Bowman won the Pocono Organics CBD 325 to score his fifth career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his third of the season and his first at Pocono. His margin over second-place Kyle Busch was .683 of a second.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 25 laps.
● Thirty-one of the 38 drivers in the Pocono Organics CBD 325 finished on the lead lap.
● Denny Hamlin remains the championship leader after Pocono with an eight-point advantage over second-place Kyle Larson.

Pocono Quotes

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Our Busch Light Ford Mustang was really good at the end. It just took us all day to kind of get the track position and get the loose into the center of the corner better. It took all day, but then we were able to get an OK finish out of it.”

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Yeah, these restarts. You’re trying to get up in those tight holes to make sure you don’t get freight trained by five cars on the straightaway. I don’t know. I haven’t seen a replay. I don’t know if it was just too tight or miscommunication or what. I really wanted a good day today. I thought we had a good car those first few laps with our HaasTooling.com Mustang, but we’ll just move on to tomorrow. It’s frustrating. I can’t tell you how frustrating this year has been. We’ll just have to keep surging on and go to tomorrow.”

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“This Smithfield Ford team fought all day to find more speed and just didn’t have it today. Proud of everyone for working so hard to gain as many spots as we could. It’s a doubleheader weekend, so the work doesn’t stop now. We’ll regroup and see what we can do to build on tomorrow’s race. We’ll have a better starting spot with the field invert, so we’ll take that as a positive.”

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com/Webex by Cisco Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Our car was so good earlier in the race and I really felt like we had something to work with, but we fired off too tight on old tires, and in the end that hurt us. We’ve definitely got something we can build on for tomorrow, and we’ll give it another shot at putting the HighPoint.com/Webex by Cisco Mustang in the top-10.”

Next Up:
The second event of the NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader at Pocono is the Pocono Mountains 350 on Sunday, June 27. The race starts at 3:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

____________________________________

Date: June 27, 2021
Event: Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 (Round 19 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format: 140 laps, broken into three stages (30 laps/55 laps/55 laps)

Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Martin Truex Jr. of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

SHR Race Finish:
● Kevin Harvick (Started 13th, Finished 4th / Running, completed 140 of 140 laps)
● Aric Almirola (Started 5th, Finished 16th / Running, completed 140 of 140 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 24th, Finished 21st / Running, completed 140 of 140 laps)
● Cole Custer (Started 38th, Finished 24th / Running, completed 139 of 140 laps)

SHR Points:
● Kevin Harvick (8th with 550 points, 168 out of first)
● Chase Briscoe (25th with 301 points, 417 out of first)
● Aric Almirola (27th with 273 points, 445 out of first)
● Cole Custer (27th with 273 points, 445 out of first)

SHR Notes:
● Harvick earned his sixth top-five and 14th top-10 of the season. It was his 15th top-five and 22nd top-10 in 42 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Pocono.
● This was Harvick’s fifth straight top-10 at Pocono.
● This was Harvick’s third straight top-10. He finished fifth last Sunday at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway and eighth yesterday in the Pocono Organics CBD 325.
● Almirola finished second in Stage 1 to earn nine bonus points and ninth in Stage 2 to earn two more bonus points.
● Briscoe was the highest finishing NASCAR Cup Series rookie for the 15th time this season.

Race Notes:
● Kyle Busch won the Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 to score his 59th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his fourth at Pocono. His margin over second-place Kyle Larson was 8.654 seconds.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 15 laps.
● Twenty-two of the 38 drivers in the Explore the Pocono Mountains 350 finished on the lead lap.
● Denny Hamlin remains the championship leader after Pocono with a four-point advantage over second-place Larson.

Pocono Quotes

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Buga (crew chief Mike Bugarewicz) and the No. 10 Smithfield team made steady improvements on the car all day. We thought the fuel mileage would play out better in our favor and give us a top-10. It was nice to run up front today in clean air and get some stage points. The strategy didn’t completely work out in our favor, but overall we had a decent day, and I don’t think our finish was indicative of that.”

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Man, we had a fast No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang today and definitely could’ve contended up there in the top-10 if we hadn’t run into trouble at the beginning of the final stage. It was hard to recover from that damage. We’ll learn and move ahead to Road America.”

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“We struggled with the car at the beginning of the race with the handling – just way too tight and also fighting loose in. Rodney (Childers, crew chief) and everybody on pit road did a really good job. Our car is just really sensitive in traffic and I lose a little bit more time in traffic than I’d like to and it just takes me longer to get by. But I’d like to thank everybody on our Busch Light Ford Mustang. I want to welcome Unibet on the car for the first week – Hunt Brothers, Jimmy John’s, Mobil 1, everybody from Haas Automation that helps this car, we just keep plowing along.”

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com/Webex by Cisco Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“The front end of car was just way too tight at the beginning. We finally got it to where the balance was pretty good and it seemed like our pit strategy was going well, but we were just a little too short on fuel to run hard at the end. I’m really excited to go to Road America. It’s one of my favorite tracks, so hopefully we’ll be able to put on a show there and come out with a good finish.”

Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Jockey Made in America 250 July 4 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Riley Herbst Pocono NXS Race Report

Herbst Finishes 35th at Pocono
Spin in Final Stage Ends Strong Run for Monster Energy Driver

Date: June 27, 2021
Event: Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons (Round 16 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway (2.5-mile triangle)
Format: 90 laps, broken into three stages (20 laps/20 laps/50 laps)
Start/Finish: 10th / 35th (Accident, completed 45 of 90 laps)
Point Standing: 15th (341 points, 339 out of first)

Race Winner: Austin Cindric of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Harrison Burton of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 2 Winner: Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Overview:
A solid day for Riley Herbst and his No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang went up in smoke after a spin on lap 45 of Sunday’s Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The 22-year-old driver was forced to settle for a 35th-place finish after racing his way up into the top-five from the rear of the field. After being sent to the back due to unapproved adjustments at the start of the 90-lap race, Herbst quickly picked off the competition and made his way into the top-15 by lap 11. He was just two spots short of a top-10 finish in Stage 1. The No. 98 Monster Energy team pitted during the break and restarted 16th for Stage 2. In a strategy call on a lap-35 caution, crew chief Richard Boswell opted to keep his driver out on track with a handful of laps to go in the stage in an attempt to gain track position and earn stage points. This ultimately worked out for the team as it finished fifth in the second stage to earn six bonus points toward the playoffs. Herbst came down pit road under the final stage break for four fresh tires and fuel to put him on the offensive at the outset of Stage 3. He restarted 21st on lap 45. In a battle for position, Herbst got loose and spun in the Tunnel Turn. The damage sustained was too much for the No. 98 team to continue.

Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Everybody’s on different tires and pit strategy. I felt like we had a decent Ford Mustang driving back up through the field. I cleared one of the backmarkers and he decided to drive it all the way back into my outside through the Tunnel Turn and I didn’t know he was there. I cleared him down Long Pond. It’s a frustrating day for sure and hurts us in points and everything. Hopefully, we can go get really good points at Road America next week.”

Notes:
● Herbst finished fifth in Stage 2 to earn six bonus points.
● Austin Cindric won the Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons to earn his 12th career victory, his fourth of the season and his first at Pocono. His margin over second-place Ty Gibbs was .331 of a second.
● There were six caution periods for a total of 21 laps.
● Seventeen of the 40 drivers in the Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons finished on the lead lap.
● Austin Cindric remains the championship leader after Pocono with a 101-point advantage over second-place A.J. Allmendinger.

Next Up:
The next event on the Xfinity Series schedule is the Henry 180 on Saturday, July 3 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. The race starts at 2:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

-SHR-

In the Know – Pocono Raceway Doubleheader

“In the Know”
Double Header at Pocono Raceway

The 2021 NASCAR Doubleheader takes place this weekend, June 25-27, in the Pocono Mountains at Pocono Raceway. Fans can enjoy all three series of NASCAR racing at the Tricky Triangle, with the Camping World Truck Series and the Cup Series competing on Saturday, and the Xfinity Series and Cup Series competing again on Sunday. A few things to note:

-Teams will use the same car both days. If a team has to go to a backup car for Sunday, they will start at the rear for that race.
-Sunday’s pit stalls are based on Saturday’s race finish.
-Sunday’s lineup is based on Saturday’s race finish. The top 20 drivers on Saturday will be inverted for Sunday’s start. Drivers that finish 21-40 on Saturday start in that position for Sunday.

The Details

● Event: Pocono Doubleheader (Rounds 18-19 of 36)
● Location: Pocono (Pa.) Raceway
● Layout: 2.5-mile triangle
● Race No. 1: Pocono Organics CBD 325
▬ Time/Date: 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 26
▬ Laps/Miles: 130 laps/325 miles
▬ Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 25 laps / Stage 2: 52 laps / Final Stage: 53 laps
● Race No. 2: Explore the Pocono Mountains 350
▬ Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 27
▬ Laps/Miles: 140 laps/350 miles
▬ Stage Lengths: Stage 1: 30 laps / Stage 2: 55 laps / Final Stage: 55 laps
● TV/Radio: NBCSN / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

What Our Drivers are Saying:

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Ford Mustang

The 2020 season began with just one doubleheader on the schedule – Pocono. But then Pocono became one of three doubleheader race weekends. What was it like running doubleheaders, and did you do anything differently in terms of your preparation?
“We were fortunate to run really well in the first race at Pocono and, from there, we knew what adjustments we needed to make for the second race. There was more rubber on the racetrack and you could see all of the competitors in the garage making their stuff better. But there’s also a flip side to all of that – you can also make yourself worse. So, you have to be careful about how much you adjust on your cars. But we did really well in all the doubleheaders last year, and I think Pocono has always been a really good racetrack for us. And being able to do that two days in a row and finish first and second in those races and have a chance at winning both races was definitely more fun than losing. The hardest part is the guys in the garage turning the car around. For me, it’s really not that big of a deal. But going through tech, getting your car prepared, doing the things that you can do to your racecar, working all night, showing back up and racing the next day, that’s really when it becomes difficult on the crew and the guys in the garage more so than me.”

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

After a solid top-five finish at Nashville, what are your thoughts on bringing this momentum to Pocono? Is it a good track to bring momentum to for you?

“Basing off of last year’s performance, you almost can’t think of a better track to come to than Pocono after finding speed the last few weekends. Last year, we had such an incredible run at Pocono on back-to-back days. Pocono is historically a track I wasn’t super confident in and now I’m heading there with a completely different mindset. We don’t have practice or qualifying, so we’ll have to unload fast again but, after finishing well at Nashville, we’ll have a better starting spot than in recent weeks, which will give us an opportunity to massage the car in cleaner air and see what we’ve got. I’d say Pocono is a great place for us to bring this momentum.”

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com/Webex by Cisco Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What is the key to being successful at Pocono?
“Pocono is such a challenging track. Speed is important anywhere we go, but this is a place where you have to be able to adapt. Your car may be really good in one corner and maybe not so great in the other two, but you’ve got to be able to figure it out if you want to run up front. I’m excited for the doubleheader. I really enjoyed running them last year in the Xfinity Series and we were usually able to find something in that first race that we could carry over to the second day, so it’ll be nice to have two shots at showing the work the guys have been putting in.”

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

What were your first impressions of Pocono, being one of the most unique layouts on the schedule?
“It was tough. It was tricky. The straightaways are so long, it gives you a lot of time to think about how you’re going to mess up the next corner (laughs). It’s a tough place to get around because all the corners are different. I think everybody loves it because it’s a challenge. With three different, really difficult corners, it’s one of those styles of tracks you haven’t seen a bunch before. It’s a triangle and you don’t ever race at other tracks shaped like that. There’s nothing like it.”

SHR Stats

NASCAR returns to Pocono for a Doubleheader after a successful weekend at the track in 2020. Last year, Kevin Harvick came home with a win in race 1 and a second place finish in race 2. Chase Briscoe also brought home a win in the Xfinity series in June of 2020. And that wasn’t Briscoe’s first time visiting Pocono’s victory lane. On July 29, 2016, Briscoe won the ARCA Racing Series event to cap a string of four consecutive victories. Cole Custer has scored a victory and two pole positions at Pocono in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and another victory in the ARCA Menards Series. In last year’s inaugural Pocono doubleheader weekend, Custer brought home finishes of 16th on Saturday and 17th on Sunday, in what were his second and third career Pocono outings in the Cup Series. Aric Almirola is looking for his third consecutive top-five finish at Pocono. In the 2020 doubleheaders, he earned third and fifth place finishes, respectively.

Of Special Interest

If you’re heading to the Poconos this weekend, be sure to check out our merch hauler! If you can’t attend in person, you can always browse online at store.stewarthaasracing.com.

Unibet Partners with Stewart-Haas Racing

Top Online Gambling Operator To Serve as Primary Sponsor for Two NASCAR Cup Series Races and One NASCAR Xfinity Series Race with Driver Kevin Harvick

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (June 23, 2021) – Unibet, a part of the Kindred Group, has partnered with championship-winning NASCAR team Stewart-Haas Racing and driver Kevin Harvick to further grow its presence in the United States and, specifically, with motorsports.

Unibet will be the primary sponsor for Harvick and the No. 4 NASCAR Cup Series team at two races – Aug. 15 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Oct. 31 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Unibet will also serve as the primary sponsor for Harvick during the NASCAR Xfinity Series race Aug. 14 at Indianapolis. Unibet debuts with Harvick and the No. 4 team this weekend during the NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway with placement on the front fender of the No. 4 Ford Mustang.

Kindred is one of the top online gambling operators with business across Europe, the U.S. and Australia. The Unibet brand is building on its years of European experience in the responsible gambling and player sustainability field and extending that mindset to its U.S. operations, with motorsports being a key platform.

“Sponsorship is an important part of our marketing initiatives in the states where sports betting is legal,” said Manuel Stan, Senior Vice President USA, Kindred. “Race fans are extremely passionate about their sport and their driver, in particular. Unibet exists to enhance fans’ passion for their sport. Our platform is straightforward, easy to understand, and filled with insights that allows our players to make informed bets. Integrating Unibet into the sport fans watch and cheer for is the best way to tell our story. We are By Players, For Players.”

Sports betting is legal in more than a dozen states. In line with sports betting’s growth, Unibet wants to expand it user base, with the platform already available to residents in Pennsylvania, Indiana, New Jersey and Virginia.

“We’re proud to represent and work with Unibet to grow its platform, now and in the future,” said Brett Frood, President, Stewart-Haas Racing. “Fans are the lifeblood of our sport and Unibet offers a new and insightful way for fans to engage with our sport in a meaningful way. We’re looking forward to kicking off our partnership with Unibet this weekend at Pocono where Pennsylvania residents can experience Unibet’s offerings firsthand.”

The NASCAR Cup Series doubleheader at Pocono begins at 3 p.m. EDT on Saturday with the second race starting at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. Both races will be broadcast live on NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Last year, Harvick won the first race of Pocono’s doubleheader on Saturday and finished second in the race on Sunday.

About Kindred Group:
Kindred Group is one of the world’s leading online gambling operators with business across Europe, the United States and Australia, offering 30 million customers across nine brands a great form of entertainment in a safe, fair and sustainable environment. The company, which employs about 1,600 people, is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm Large Cap and is a member of the European Gaming and Betting Association (EGBA) and founding member of IBIA (sports betting integrity). Kindred Group is audited and certified by eCOGRA for compliance with the 2014 EU Recommendation on Consumer Protection and Responsible Gambling (2014/478/EU). Read more on www.kindredgroup.com.

About Stewart-Haas Racing:
Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR team co-owned by three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Tony Stewart and Gene Haas, founder of Haas Automation – the largest CNC machine tool builder in North America. The Kannapolis, North Carolina-based organization has won two NASCAR Cup Series titles, one NASCAR Xfinity Series championship and more than 90 NASCAR races, including such crown-jewel events as the Daytona 500, Brickyard 400 and Southern 500. For more information, please visit us online at StewartHaasRacing.com, on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram and on YouTube.

-SHR-

SHR Post-Race Report: Inaugural Ally 400 from Nashville

STEWART-HAAS RACING
Inaugural Ally 400 from Nashville

Date: June 20, 2021
Event: Inaugural Ally 400 (Round 17 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway (1.333-mile oval)
Format: 300 laps, broken into four stages (90 laps/95 laps/115 laps)

Race Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 1 Winner: Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)

SHR Race Finish:
● Aric Almirola (Started 1st, Finished 4th / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
● Kevin Harvick (Started 12th, Finished 5th / Running, completed 300 of 300 laps)
● Cole Custer (Started 7th, Finished 31st / Running, completed 252 of 300 laps)
● Chase Briscoe (Started 16th, Finished 32nd / Accident, completed 227 of 300 laps)

SHR Points:
● Kevin Harvick (8th with 516 points, 168 out of first)
● Chase Briscoe (26th with 284 points, 400 out of first)
● Cole Custer (27th with 259 points, 425 out of first)
● Aric Almirola (28th with 240 points, 444 out of first)

SHR Notes:
● Almirola earned his first top-five and second top-10 of the season.
● This was Almirola’s best finish so far this season. His previous best result was a sixth-place drive April 18 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway.
● Almirola finished ninth in Stage 2 to earn two bonus points.
● Harvick earned his fifth top-five and 12th top-10 of the season.
● Harvick finished 10th in Stage 2 to earn one bonus point.
● Briscoe finished third in Stage 2 to earn eight bonus points.
● Almirola led a lap and Briscoe led once for five laps.

Race Notes:
● Kyle Larson won the inaugural Ally 400 to score his 10th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his fourth of the season and his third straight. His margin over second-place Ross Chastain was 4.335 seconds.
● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 60 laps.
● Twenty of the 39 drivers in the Ally 400 finished on the lead lap.
● Denny Hamlin remains the championship leader after Nashville with a nine-point advantage over second-place Larson.

Nashville Quotes

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“We had a good car and finally ended some of the bad luck that has been dealt our way this year. Our race team is doing a great job scrounging and scrapping to build better racecars, and it’s nice to come here and run up front, run in the top-five and at least be in the mix, so it feels good. We’ll just keep building on it. The All-Star Race was a good race for us. Today, again, was a good race for us, so we’ll just keep grinding. We had some really fast cars on Pocono last year, and we’re racing there twice this weekend, so we’ve got a chance to keep building on this momentum.”

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Monster Jam/Grave Digger Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Our Monster Jam/Grave Digger Ford Mustang was a lot loose at the beginning and really pretty good the second half of the race. We got some damage there when we made a little contact with the 24 (William Byron) and that made it a little bit tighter. I thought we were better than the 24. The 42 (Ross Chastain) had fresh tires, and the 10 (SHR teammate Aric Almirola), I thought we were better than those cars. The 5 (Kyle Larson) was kind of in a league of his own, but once again the guys did a great job and ground away at it and came away with a top-five as we ran out of gas. I think before our damage we probably had the second-best car at the end and got a little bit of damage on the right side. I got a little bit tight and then ran out of gas off of turn four and lost a couple of spots but, all in all, it was a solid day.”

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Tony’s Tea Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“Just wasn’t the day we were hoping for at Nashville. Our car was strong and qualified in the top-10, but we had that right-rear flat in the second stage and after going to the garage, we just couldn’t recover. We’ll head to Pocono and try to turn things around.”

Chase Briscoe, driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com/Thorlabs Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“We just lost the brakes getting into turn three. It’s super unfortunate for our HighPoint.com/Thorlabs team. We had a really, really good car, and I feel like we were going to be right there for a top-five at the end. We just needed a long run, but even on the short run we made our car so much better, so I really hate it, because that was going to be our best run of the year for sure and something like that happens. It’s really wild to see all the brake issues we’ve had today. We were able to do the Goodyear test a few months ago and knew that brakes were going to be way worse than everybody else thought. So we beefed them up and it still wasn’t good enough, so it’s unfortunate. We’ll go on to Pocono and try to have a good run for HighPoint.com at their home track.”

Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is a doubleheader June 26-27 at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The first race starts at 3 p.m. EDT on Saturday and the second race begins at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. Both races will be broadcast live on NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

-SHR-

Monster Energy Racing: Riley Herbst Nashville NXS Race Report

Herbst Finishes 10th at Nashville
Monster Energy Driver Overcomes Penalties To Earn Fourth Top-10 of 2021

Date: June 19, 2021
Event: Tennessee Lottery 250 (Round 15 of 33)
Series: NASCAR Xfinity Series
Location: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway (1.333-mile, concrete oval)
Format: 188 laps, broken into three stages (45 laps/45 laps/98 laps)
Start/Finish: 20th /10th (Running, completed 189 of 189 laps)
Point Standing: 13th (333 points, 295 out of first)
Note: Race extended one lap past its scheduled 188-lap distance due to a green-white-checkered finish.

Race Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Austin Cindric of Team Penske (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Overview:
Riley Herbst and the No. 98 Monster Energy team persevered to finish 10th in Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway. After starting 20th, the No. 98 Monster Energy driver climbed his way into the top-15 by lap 39 and kept that position until the end of Stage 1. After pitting at the stage break for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment to help combat a tightening racecar, Herbst restarted the second stage 10th. The 22-year-old driver struggled with grip as the stage progressed but was still able to finish it in 13th. In the final stage, the team was hit with two pit road penalties, but it was determined to overcome both and made it back into the top-10 by the closing laps, its fast Ford Mustang able to pass cars on green-flag runs, and weathering numerous incidents, as well. Herbst was running eighth when the final yellow flag flew on lap 181 that set up the green-white-checkered finale. The team opted to restart in the preferred line while maintaining its eighth-place position. Herbst ultimately brought home the Monster Energy team’s fourth top-10 of the 2021 season.

Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“It was a long day. We came from the back twice. I felt like we had a pretty decent long-run racecar, it’s just that we couldn’t get the long run at the end and cycled too tight at the last restart. It’s cool to get a 10th-place and some good points for the playoffs. We’ll head to Pocono.”

Notes:
● Kyle Busch won the Tennessee Lottery 250 to earn his milestone 100th career victory, his third of the season and his second at Nashville. His margin over second-place Justin Allgaier was 1.110 seconds.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 46 laps.
● Twenty-two of the 36 drivers in the Tennessee Lottery 250 finished on the lead lap.
● Austin Cindric remains the championship leader after Nashville with a 90-point advantage over second-place A.J. Allmendinger.

Next Up:
The next event on the Xfinity Series schedule is the Pocono Green 225 Recycled by J.P. Mascaro & Sons on Sunday, June 27 at the Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. The race starts at 12 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

-SHR-

Need to Know – Inaugural Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway

It’s been a full decade since NASCAR last competed at Nashville Superspeedway. Carl Edwards claimed a victory in the Xfinity Series race on July 23rd, 2011, but the NASCAR Cup Series has never competed on the 1.333-mile oval. Many drivers have tested there, back when Tuesday and Wednesday tests between races were a common thing, before heading to the next race on Thursday. Of the Stewart-Haas drivers, Harvick and Almirola have logged many laps at Nashville Superspeedway, between testing and Xfinity races, while Custer and Briscoe have both only had a chance to run some test laps.

The Details

● Event: Inaugural Ally 400 (Round 17 of 36)
● Time/Date: 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday, June 20
● Location: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway
● Layout: 1.333-mile, concrete oval
● Laps/Miles: 300 laps/399.9 miles
● Stage Lengths: Stages 1: 90 laps / Stage 2: 95 laps / Final Stage: 115 laps
● TV/Radio: NBCSN / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

What Our Drivers are Saying:

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Monster Jam/Grave Digger Ford Mustang

You last competed at Nashville in 2010 during a NASCAR Xfinity Series race. What are your expectations when you roll back in there in 2021?
“I didn’t ever go to Nashville without the expectation of winning. It was one of our best racetracks throughout the years and we’ve always had good success there and always enjoyed the racetrack itself. I’m looking forward to Cup finally going there. I know that facility was built to entertain having a Cup date and I can’t believe it’s taken this long because Nashville is such a great area for us as a sport. I’m excited to be there because we have just a ton of fans. Obviously, it’s the home of Hunt Brothers Pizza, as well. So there’s just a lot of good things that are happening when we go back to Nashville.”

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Smithfield Ford Mustang

You have some solid finishes at Nashville in the Xfinity and Truck series. Are you looking forward to getting back there after a solid finish at Texas last weekend?

“I’m certainly looking forward to it coming off one of our best days this year. We tried something new and had a fast car good enough to let us race for a million bucks and we didn’t make any mistakes as a race team. It was the kind of day we needed heading to a new race that can get us back on track after the year we have had. We really needed that as a race team. Everyone is headed to Nashville with a clean slate and that gives me a lot of hope for a solid weekend.”

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Tony’s Tea Ford Mustang

What’s on your mind as the Cup Series heads to Nashville for the first time?
“I’m looking forward to it. I think the biggest thing is just going back to a town that really fits our roots, going to a country (music) town. I think it should be a great race. And being able to go back to that town and helping revitalize the racing atmosphere there, I think, is going to be awesome. I’ve never spent time in Nashville before, so I’m looking forward to actually seeing the city and going back there.”

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com/Thorlabs Ford Mustang

What does it mean to be going to a place like Nashville that hasn’t hosted a Cup Series race in 37 years?
“It’s special. For me, in my rookie season, every track I go to in the Cup Series is special, but to be a part of the first one is going to be cool. There’s only a first race at a racetrack one time – and then the second time, not that it’s not special, but it’s not as special as the first time – so to be able to experience that as a rookie is going to be super cool. There’s a lot of great racing history and heritage in the Nashville area. I remember running ARCA in Nashville at the fairgrounds and just how many people come out and how special it is to get a run in that area, so I’m excited. It’s one of the relatively closer racetracks to my hometown, so I know I’ve got a lot of people from Southern Indiana driving down to watch this race, and it’s just going to be special to be a part of it, and to have a sold-out crowd. That’s something that on the Cup side a lot of the guys are used to, but a sold-out crowd is something I’ve never gotten to experience because of COVID and everything else, so I’m excited to experience that this weekend, for sure.”

SHR Stats

After a 10 year hiatus of any NASCAR competition at NSS, the drivers are ready to get on the concrete this weekend.

Harvick, now in his 21st year of Cup Series competition, has logged many laps in a Cup car at Nashville Superspeedway despite the track never hosting a Cup race until this Sunday’s inaugural Ally 400. In four career Xfinity Series starts at the track, Harvick has two wins – April 15, 2006 and April 3, 2010. He finished third on June 10, 2006 and recorded his worst finish, seventh, in his first Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on April 14, 2001. It all gave Harvick an average finish of third. He also had a lap completion rate of 100 percent, running all 900 laps available to him, and he led 123 of those laps. Harvick also made one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Nashville Superspeedway. It was on April 2, 2010 when he finished second to Kyle Busch.

Aric Almirola is one of the few drivers in this weekend’s Cup Series inaugural Ally 400 field who has raced at Nashville Superspeedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series. In four Xfinity Series starts at the track, Almirola has three top-10 finishes and one top-five with a best finish of fifth. In four Truck Series starts, Almirola has earned two top-10s and a top-five with a best finish of third.

While Cole Custer nor Chase Briscoe have actually raced at Nashville, Briscoe has already visited there twice this year as the designated Ford participant in Goodyear tire tests, and Custer has also tested at the track.

Of Special Interest

Sunday June 20th is Father’s Day. What better way to celebrate dads than with NASCAR racing? If you’re going to be in Nashville, check out the merch hauler on-site in the Fan Zone between Gates 3 and 4. If you can’t make it to the racetrack, from now until June 25th, spend $55 in our online store and you’ll receive an exclusive multi-functional SHR tool pen – just for dad!

store.stewarthaasracing.com

Riley Herbst Nashville NXS Pre-Race Report

RILEY HERBST
Nashville NASCAR Xfinity Series Advance
No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing

Event Overview

• Event: Tennessee Lottery 250 (Round 15 of 33)
• Date: Saturday, June 19
• Location: Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway
• Layout: 1.333-mile, concrete oval
• Time/TV/Radio: 3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/MRN/SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

Notes of Interest

Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway is one of the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ enhanced race weekends with practice and qualifying prior to the race. It’s an opportunity relished by Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR). The last time the Xfinity Series featured practice and qualifying in the lead up to the race was three weeks ago at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Herbst took full advantage of the opportunity, setting the fastest time in practice and then backing it up with his first career pole. Herbst aims to replicate that kind of speed in Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250.

Nashville is best known as Music City, but its bright lights and lively nightlife has earned Nashville another nickname – Nashvegas. As a native of Las Vegas, Herbst feels right at home in Nashville. That Nashville Superspeedway is an intermediate-style track makes Herbst feel even more welcome. His history at intermediates is strong. His best career finishes have come at intermediates, where he owns a pair of second-place results – Feb. 29, 2020 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, and July 9, 2020 at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

The Tennessee Lottery 250 will mark Herbst’s 58th career Xfinity Series start and, like much of the field, his first at Nashville. The 22-year-old racer has earned six top-five finishes and 24 top-10s. While Herbst has never made a start on Nashville’s 1.333-mile, concrete oval, he does have two starts at another track in Music City – the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, where he earned a best finish of seventh in the April 2017 ARCA Menards Series race.

Riley Herbst, Driver of the No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang

There is practice and qualifying once again this weekend at Nashville Superspeedway. After topping the speed charts and winning your first career pole at Charlotte, are you looking forward to these sessions?
“Definitely. You learn so much in practice and qualifying that can transfer over to the race. The sim is great, but nothing beats actually getting out on the track and putting down some laps before the green flag. I’m hoping we can produce the same results as Charlotte. I’m excited to show some speed this weekend at Nashville.”

This is your first start at Nashville Superspeedway. How do you feel heading into the weekend?
“I’m pumped to get to Nashville. The Xfinity Series hasn’t been there in a quite a few years, so it’s great to get NASCAR back to Music City. On top of the excitement of a new racetrack, I’m also happy that we’re able to fit in practice and qualifying this weekend. It’s another chance for us to learn and improve as the season continues.”

Monster Energy has been with you for some time. Talk about what that long-term partnership means to you.
“It’s super cool to have that support from Monster Energy. I love the flat black scheme with the bright green ‘M’ on the hood. I’ve been with the Monster Energy folks since I was probably 15 or 16 years old through my family’s off-road racing team, who they sponsored. We just kept that relationship alive as time went on. The people out in Corona, California, are like family to me and they’re so supportive of my career. Hopefully, I can get them a win in Nashville this weekend.

Cole Custer Running Special Dixie Vodka Paint Scheme at Nashville, Featuring “Tony’s Tea”

Cole Custer and the No. 41 Ford Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) welcome back Dixie Vodka and introduce an exciting new product offering as the NASCAR Cup Series visits Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway for the first time for Sunday’s inaugural Ally 400. Dixie Vodka, the largest premium craft vodka produced in the Southeast, has created a new, ready-to-drink canned cocktail called “Tony’s Tea” alongside a series of three other canned cocktails from the brand. Tony’s Tea, named for NASCAR Hall of Famer and SHR co-owner Tony Stewart, features a combination of iced tea and lemonade spiked with Dixie Vodka’s award-winning flagship Southern Vodka.

Custer and the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Tony’s Tea Ford for SHR join their Cup Series counterparts for Sunday’s historic debut at the 1.333-mile concrete oval that hosted NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and Camping World Truck Series events from 2001 through 2011. For only the fifth time in 16 races this season, the Cup Series will practice and qualify prior to Sunday’s main event. A 50-minute practice session is set for 2:05 p.m. EDT Saturday with qualifying set for 11:05 a.m. Sunday.

Sunday’s race marks the 56th career start for the 23-year-old Custer, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year, and his 29th on an intermediate racetrack. He has one win – last July at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta – and six top-10 finishes in his previous 28 starts on intermediate tracks.

Custer arrives at Nashville 27th in the Cup Series standings, 102 points behind the top-16 cutoff for the NASCAR playoffs, after his 20th-place finish in the most recent points-paying race two weekends ago at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway.

Kevin Harvick to Run Grave Digger Scheme at Nashville

One of the most decorated Monster Jam trucks in the world will be represented in the inaugural Ally 400 NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday at Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway… and we have Keelan Harvick to thank for it. Keelan wanted to give his dad, Kevin, the most awesome Father’s Day gift ever, so the eight-year-old organized a surprise for his dad – a Grave Digger paint scheme on Kevin’s No. 4 Ford Mustang. It turns out the iconic paint scheme featured on the 12,000-pound, larger-than-life truck that rides on enormous 66-inch BKT tires transfers well to a sleek and fast Stewart-Haas Racing-built Ford Mustang. The No. 4 Monster Jam/Grave Digger Ford Mustang is sure to turn heads this Father’s Day weekend – in the stands and on the track as drivers do a double-take when they see Grave Digger looming large in their rearview mirror.

So how does a Monster Jam truck – and not just any Monster Jam truck, but the Monster Jam truck of Monster Jam trucks – rank as a cool Father’s Day gift, and a surprise Father’s Day gift from your son, Keelan?
“It’s THE monster truck. Loud noises, big engines, big wheels, big tires, fast racecars, and to have that be a surprise, it’s surprising to me because of the fact that it’s with Grave Digger and everything, the history, that goes with that truck. But it doesn’t surprise me that it’s something related to a car and tying it in to what we do. This one caught me off guard, though, because I had no idea that any of this was happening and, to have my 8-year-old son be able to pull that off and know more about it than I do makes me feel like I’m a little bit left out. So we’re going to have to talk to somebody.”

How many times have you been to Monster Jam and what is it about those events that resonates with you and Keelan?
“We have been to Monster Jam. We went to Charlotte. We went to Atlanta several years ago. We’ve been to a few of them. For Keelan and I, racing is a legacy, you pass it on from one generation to the next. And the same thing has happened with Grave Digger and the drivers of that truck. What we do, you see generations of families that have had their fathers, their sons and their sons move on through the ranks of racing. It’s something that you grow up around and are a part of and you learn to love the sport. And when you’re around it, you understand it’s a family sport and, for me, that’s the best part of it – that it’s something we can do together.”

When Dennis Anderson, the patriarch of Grave Digger, was behind the wheel of his Monster Jam truck, he was crushing cars. That doesn’t typically work too well in a stock car. How are you going to live up to Grave Digger’s legacy?
“You’ve got to set yourself apart from everybody else, right? The best way to do that for us is to run faster than everybody else, so hopefully we can have this No. 4 Monster Jam/Grave Digger Ford Mustang doing what it’s supposed to do and running fast – scare them right off the track. They’re all going to be jealous because I get to drive Grave Digger’s car.”

It’s been 10 years since NASCAR last competed at Nashville Superspeedway, and it was an Xfinity Series race on July 23, 2011 that was won by Carl Edwards. The NASCAR Cup Series has never competed on the 1.333-mile oval, but Cup teams tested there extensively back in the day when it was fashionable to race on Sunday, test somewhere on Tuesday and Wednesday, and then fly to the next Cup race on Thursday. Harvick, now in his 21st year of Cup Series competition, has logged many laps in a Cup car at Nashville Superspeedway despite the track never hosting a Cup race until this Sunday’s inaugural Ally 400.

Harvick has, however, raced at Nashville Superspeedway and performed incredibly well. In four career Xfinity Series starts at the track, Harvick has two wins – April 15, 2006 and April 3, 2010. He finished third on June 10, 2006 and recorded his worst finish, seventh, in his first Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway on April 14, 2001. It all gave Harvick an average finish of third. He also had a lap completion rate of 100 percent, running all 900 laps available to him, and he led 123 of those laps.

Harvick also made one NASCAR Camping World Truck Series start at Nashville Superspeedway. It was on April 2, 2010 when he finished second to Kyle Busch.